Step 2 Now that we have this character on its own symbol, we will do the same thing for each moveable body part, starting with the head. Lock all the layers except the mouth, eye and head. Select all, right-click on the frame, select Cut Frames, create a new Movie Clip symbol, name it ‘HB Head’, right-click on the first blank frame and paste the frames.

Step 3 We deleted the bold outline in step 1; now to reinject some of that pop aesthetic by creating the outline again for each element. Using the Selection tool (V), double-click on the outline of the head: this selects all joined lines. Click Edit > Copy (Cmd/Ctrl + C), create a new layer at the bottom of the layer stack, Edit > Paste In Place (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + V) and increase the stroke size to 18pt.

Step 4 To assemble the character, go to the ‘HB’ symbol by clicking the tab below the timeline and delete the arms – we’ll replace them with new arms in the animation. Open the Library window (L), and drag HB rArm1, and HB rArm2 onto the stage in the same layer, and then ‘HB Guitar’ and ‘HB Head’, each in their own layer. If you’re working on your own Flash file, open hbjb_animation1.fla and copy the symbols from the Library.